Stout, chocolate and coffee have been on my mind. Destiny arrived in the form of Shinerbock Stout, which magically appeared at my local NYC grocery store on my return from Austin in August. Autumn weather sparks my interest in deeper bolder flavors and a bottle of stout, dark chocolate and ancho chile provided the perfect muse for this fall recipe. I use stout as a braising liquid for the pork tenderloin and finish with chocolate, inspired by the mole’s of Oaxaca. Catalan and Oaxaca cuisines are the only two regions I know of that use chocolate in savory dishes, perhaps there are others. Adding the dark chocolate at the very end gives the reduced sauce a lovely velvet texture and savory bitter finish. It is important not to over sauce in general and especially with a rich sauce like this one. I put a spoonful of the sauce on the plate and place the pork loin slices on top. In September I served it with grilled peaches and recently in November with saffron rice or parsnip mash and sliced avocado. Leftover and shredded it is perfect for tacos.

Stay tuned for the coffee experiment…….xo Carlita

Pork Tenderloin Braised in Stout with Chili and Chocolate

Pork Tenderloin – 2 ¼ pound

1 btl stout, guiness or equivalent

½ cup chicken stock

1 carrot, diced

I small red onion, diced

1 ancho chili, reconstituted, stems and seeds removed, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

8-10 fresh sage leaves

3 squares from a dark chocolate bar, bitter, or baking chocolate

Slice silverskin and fat from pork tenderloin and rub with salt and smoked Spanish paprika or hot paprika.

Heat grapeseed oil in enamel cast iron skillet, when hot add tenderloin, sear on all sides and remove to a plate. Cover and keep warm in a low oven.

Add 1 T more grapeseed oil to the pan and sauté the soffritto mixture, ancho chili and a dash of salt, when the mixture starts browning add the chicken broth, pork tenderloin and 1 bottle of stout.

Simmer for 20 minutes turning the tenderloin once and keep the pot partially covered. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the tenderloin, it will still cook while resting in the warm oven. Good quality pork should be cooked to a pink center.

Take the pork out, cover on a plate and keep warm in a low oven

Puree the sauce in a blender or immersion blender and then reduce by at least half.

When the sauce is reduced and somewhat thick add shaved chocolate from 3 squares of a dark chocolate bar.